As #AbolishICE Becomes Left's Rallying Call, O'Rourke Walks A Fine Line In His Response [#TXPolitics 24/7]

Spurred by the issue of the detention of minors and their separation from parents who jumped the US/Mexico border illegally, Democrats - especially the more Left-leaning Democrats - have taken up "Abolish ICE!" [the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency] as a rallying call.

Texas Democrats are in a bind over the issue. On one hand, if they champion the elimination of the agency currently tasked with border enforcement, they risk appearing too radical in a state that leans heavily Republican. But by not speaking out, they risk alienating their Left-leaning base, newly animated by the victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic congressional primary in New York and, earlier, by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' run for president in 2016. Ocasio-Cortez has visited the border during her campaign and has called for ICE's elimination.

Republican Ted Cruz has clearly stated that he would not support such a move, but his Democratic opponent in the fall, El Paso Rep. Beto O'Rourke, has walked a more fine line in addressing the issue.

As the Texas Tribune reports, when asked about abolishing ICE Friday at a town hall in San Antonio, O'Rourke discussed the need to eliminate fear in immigrant communities under the Trump Administration, and the need to find a better way to enforce immigration laws.

"And if that involves doing away with this agency, giving that responsibility to somebody else, changing how this agency performs, I’m open to doing that," O’Rourke said.

Yet he went on to flatly answer no when directly asked if he would abolish ICE, explaining that he does not currently know enough about how immigration law would be enforced without the agency.

"I understand the urgency of this," O’Rourke said in conclusion. "I just want to make sure that we’re constructive in how we talk about meeting this challenge and that I understand what abolishing ICE would mean in terms of enforcing our laws going forward."

The Tribune notes that Cruz's campaign seized on the part of O'Rourke's response where he said he would be "open" to doing away with ICE, and it singled out his broader suggestion that the agency was responsible for the fear in the immigrant communities.

"Sen. Cruz believes that ICE agents work hard to secure our borders and keep Americans safe," Cruz spokeswoman Emily Miller said in a statement. "He fully supports keeping the agency in charge of removing illegal immigrants from the United States."